


The Inquisition Needs Love

by caitirin



Series: The Chronicles of Teithranen Lavellan: Plant-Obsessed Soft-Hearted Inquisitor [4]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dagna is a genius, Dalish elves eat bugs, Dorian Pavus is a Good Friend, Dorian is melodramatic, Falling In Love, Haven is a freezing dump, Inquisition uniforms are insane, Insomnia, M/M, Pre-Slash, Romance, Runes, Scarves, Three Things, antivan cinnamon whiskey, lets do something interesting, tevinter ribaldry, the inquisitor hates chairs, three legged cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 00:43:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14905268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitirin/pseuds/caitirin
Summary: Three things that Teithranen Lavellan did that made Dorian Pavus fall in love with him.andThree things that Dorian Pavus did that made Teithranen Lavellan fall in love with him.Dorian sidled up behind him after once such incident.  “You, are enjoying yourself far too much doing that.”Tei looked guiltily over his shoulder.  “I have no idea what you mean.  I’m just being resourceful.”“You’re eating bugs because it horrifies people.”  Dorian smirked.  “And it if weren’t so disgusting I would be jealous that I didn’t think of it first.”





	The Inquisition Needs Love

**Author's Note:**

> My Inquisitor's name is Teithranen Lavellan (Tei).

**Three things that Teithranen Lavellan did that made Dorian Pavus fall in love with him.**

 

Dorian knew that he was walking a dangerous line with the Inquisitor.  The smartest thing he could possibly do would be to remain polite, keep his distance, and stop flirting with him.  Unfortunately, Dorian had never been a man to be smart when he found something that he really enjoyed. And, of course, it didn’t help that Teithranen Lavellan kept seeking him out.  

Dorian’s Haven quarters were at the edge of the encampment, safely out of the way of everyone else.  No need to have every wealthy dignified potential alliance parading past the ‘Evil-Magister-Who-Might-Be-A-Spy’, even if he wasn’t actually magister, just an altus, not that anyone in the south seemed to remember the distinction.  And Dorian was fine with that, even if it meant that he was stuck with only Solas for conversation. Maybe it was a birth defect that just made it seem like the apostate elf was always looking down his nose at everyone. It actually reminded him of people back home which was oddly comforting in an irritating way.  Dorian could  _ almost  _ respect the fact that Solas seemed to treat everyone with equal disdain, and it wasn’t that he was singling out Dorian for hatred just because he was Tevinter.  The fact of the remoteness of his lodgings and the reality of everyone avoiding him made the fact that Tei kept showing up out there just to talk with him all the more endearing.  

When Tei arrived with the blue and white scarf it was a big clue.  Haven was a freezing dump and Dorian hated it. He was always cold, even around a roaring fire or under a pile of blankets.  It never got this cold in Tevinter. True, he could have swathed himself in furs and staved off the cold if he wanted to look like some kind of feral Fereldan mabari, but despite his desperate situation he still had some pride.  So he shivered and silently cursed the south. 

“I found something that I thought you might like.”  

A familiar and welcome voice made Dorian look up from the book he was reading.  “Herald, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. What brings you to this end of Haven?”

Tei held out the scarf.  It had been handwoven and was mostly cream with a few bright blue warp threads running through it.  “You’re always saying that it’s unforgivably cold here in the south. I thought you might like something to warm you.  There was a woman at the Crossroads selling these to help feed her family.”

Dorian smiled.  “And so of course, you bought every scarf she had for sale and now you’re giving them away?”  Dorian accepted the scarf from Tei. It was far softer than Dorian had expected.

Tei’s eyes shifted about guiltily.  “I might have done something like that.”  He smiled bashfully.

“Wait, let me guess.  You also overpaid for them, then you gave her some food, and-”  Dorian paused thoughtfully. “Some kind of amusement for her children.  Am I far off?”

Tei ducked his head.  “It was just a June knot puzzle.  Dalish children play with them all the time.  It was easy enough to carve.”

Dorian laughed.  “Of course you did.  In that case, I gratefully accept this charitable gift.”  He wound the scarf around his neck. It was actually well made, looking far less rustic than he’d expected from some peasant craft.  “You must let me repay you for the kindness, your worship.”

Tei shook his head.  “Don’t call me ‘your worship’ ever again and we’ll call it even.”  Tei smiled up at him, fidgeting with the trim of his jacket. “Well, I should go.  I hope you get good use out of the scarf, Dorian.”

Dorian inclined his head.  “You know where I’ll be.”

 

\---

 

Teithranen Lavellan, now the Inquisitor, never liked to sit in a chair.  Maybe it was a Dalish thing, maybe it was an anxious thing, maybe it was a chronic fear of furniture, Dorian hadn’t asked.  Suffice it to say that if you put Tei in the same room with a chair, you’d be much more likely than not to find him sitting in a corner on the floor instead of using the chair.  All this was despite Josephine’s best efforts to break him of this odd habit. He had a beautiful desk in his Skyhold quarters and a finely upholstered chair behind it. Tei eschewed the chair in favor of sitting barefoot and cross legged on top of the desk with piles of paperwork all around him.  Dorian had found him more times than he could count sitting underneath the desk for a little extra peace and quiet. Some of the less top notch Inquisition soldiers sent to fetch him for endless meetings didn’t think to look any further when they didn’t see the Inquisitor at his desk. Leliana, Cullen, and Josephine had all learned in a matter of days how to find the Inquisitor when a soldier reported he was nowhere to be found.  

Dorian had seen him perched on top of the wooden crate beside Krem’s chair laughing while Krem recounted fantastical stories of strange jobs the Chargers had been hired to do.  It was quite the picture, Krem sitting on the back of his chair with the Inquisitor perched on a box next to him. Maybe they shared some bizarre distaste for chairs. 

Dorian was pretty sure that it wasn’t some kind of innate desire for rebellion that made Tei perch on things, it was just something he did.  But it made Dorian’s withered sarcastic little heart swell with amusement when he found Tei sitting on Solas’ desk in the bottom floor of the library tower.  It obviously irritated Solas, but he was trying to pretend that having the Inquisitor sitting on top of his papers wasn’t annoying. At first Dorian had assumed that Tei and Solas would get along, but as it turned out Solas had some kind of grudge against the Dalish and big surprise, the proudly Dalish Inquisitor didn’t appreciate the smug condescension.  Sitting on top of his work was probably one of the least offensive ways he could have chosen to show it.

Solas glowered down at him a made some kind of derisive remark about the Dalish and Tei pretended not to have heard it.  He simply continued to question Solas about the Fade. Dorian watched as Tei looked right at Solas and curled his legs under his knees with a wide smile.  Oh, he knew. There was no mistaking that defiant act for naivety. Dorian snickered to himself and his estimation of the Inquisitor bumped up a few notches.  

 

\---

 

Apparently eating bugs is a Dalish custom.  However, it’s one thing to know that and quite another to watch the Inquisitor grab a creepy crawly off your shirt and pop it into his mouth.

“Oh... Vishante Kaffas, that is  _ disgusting. _ ”  Dorian backed away with a hand up covering his mouth.

Tei grinned and then tilted his head to one side.  “What? They’re great. Nice crunch and then a kind of tartness.  Filled with protein.”

“So are  _ any _ of the game animals you’ve caught and prepared over the past months.  And so are the things you packed for us all to eat that we have in our packs.”  Dorian gestured wildly at Tei’s satchel. “None of us are starving enough that we need to resort to  _ insect eating _ .”

Tei shrugged and kept on walking.  “Supplementing with what you can forage is just good survival skills.”  He patted Dorian on the shoulder and headed towards the rest of their group.  “Next time I’ll save some for you.”

“Please, never do that.”  Dorian followed after him shaking his head.

 

And Dorian was absolutely right, they’d never been so hungry with the Inquisition that they needed to resort to survival tactics like those.  But Dorian realized, as time went on, that Tei seemed to enjoy pulling that trick on unsuspecting Inquisition scouts and anyone who was rude but not of high enough rank to cause the Inquisition a headache.  It worked every single time, causing an amusing spectrum of reactions from horrified terror to a look of queasy disgust. Tei kept his face a perfect mask of innocence until the unfortunate victim was far enough away and then he’d laugh quietly to himself.

Dorian sidled up behind him after once such incident.  “You, are enjoying yourself far too much doing that.”

Tei looked guiltily over his shoulder.  “I have no idea what you mean. I’m just being resourceful.”

“You’re eating bugs because it horrifies people.”  Dorian smirked. “And it if weren’t so disgusting I would be jealous that I didn’t think of it first.”

  
  
  


**Three things that Dorian Pavus did that made Teithranen Lavellan fall in love with him.**

 

“I’ve had a rotten day.  Let's do something interesting.”  Tei ducked around the corner of Dorian’s library alcove.  He looked around him as though he were trying to be sure he wasn’t being followed.

“Well, we can’t have that.  Let’s see, what can we get up to to distract you for a while?”  Dorian smiled lasciviously

Tei laughed.  “Tempting, but I could really use some fresh air, I’ve been inside at War Table meetings since before sunrise.  I think I’ve forgotten what grass looks like.” 

Dorian gave him a mock pout.  “Fine, I have an idea. Come, we'll watch your soldiers bash each other with sticks while I critique their uniforms.”  Dorian set his book aside and looped his arm through Tei’s as they headed towards the stairs.”

“What's wrong with their uniforms?”  Tei frowned.

Dorian smirked.  “Getting ahead of yourself, aren't you? I have a list. Let me find it...”

 

They walked outside into the courtyard where, sure enough, there were some soldiers drilling under Cullen’s watchful eye.  Tei found a place on a retaining wall and Dorian sat down next to him.

Tei tried to take the slip of paper Dorian was perusing.  “I can’t believe you  _ actually _ had a list.”  

Dorian kept it out of Tei’s reach.  He pointed down at a cluster of scouts.  “See, look at those hoods. What tactical purpose do those... I don’t even know what to call them - cheek guards possibly serve?  And how do they stay in place? Are they glued there? Do they have steel inserts?”

Tei chuckled.  He had a point.  Tei had no idea what the designers had been thinking.  “Okay, but the rest is pretty reasonable.”

“I absolutely disagree.”  Dorian continued. “Mint green hoods, Amatus?  In what natural setting could mint green  _ possibly _ be considered a camouflaging color?  It occurs nowhere in nature.”

“Well, I’ve seen some leaves that are around that color.”  Tei shrugged.

“I might accept that if they were not still wearing them in the Western Approach.  Maybe.” Dorian laughed.

Tei leaned against him.  “Okay, you’ve got to have more.  What else is on your list?”

Dorian smiled, encouraged.  “Those bizarre rolls of fabric around their shoulders.  What are those, padding? Some kind of extra fabric in case of a fashion emergency wherein they might be called on to create some manner of brown cape?”

Tei snorted.  “I don’t know.  Maybe it’s for... wind resistance?  Okay, you’ve got me. I haven’t the faintest idea.”

“I have a theory.”  Dorian said with a flourish.

“Do tell.”  Tei looked at him with an excited grin.

“I think Josephine found some amazing deal at a circus supply company and decided they would suffice for your soldier’s uniforms.”

Tei snickered at the idea of Josephine and a circus.  “You might have a point, Cullen and his pauldrons would probably fit in at a circus.”

Dorian threw up his hands.  “Exactly! That’s just what I mean.  When was the last time those shoulder carpets were laundered?  I think they might be alive.”

Tei barked a loud laugh and then covered his mouth with his hands to stifle his laughter.

Several people looked up at them with confusion.

Tei giggled.  “You’re terrible, Dorian.”  

“So people keep telling me.  But you laughed too.” 

“I suppose we’ll have to just be terrible together then.”

 

\---

 

A too gentle knock on his door woke Dorian up.  He wasn’t sure he’d actually heard anything at first.  He pulled a robe around his shoulders and shuffled to the door.  He opened it just in time to see the retreating figure of the Inquisitor making his way back towards the dormitory doors.  “Can’t sleep again?” 

Tei’s shoulders hunched and he turned around guiltily.  “Sorry, I know it’s late.”

Dorian covered a yawn.  “In some places it’s early.  Were I back in Tevinter I’d probably not even have left whatever party I was attending yet.”  He motioned Tei to come back over. 

Tei walked on silent feet back to Dorian’s door.  “You look tired. I should probably go.”

“You woke me up, Tei.  Now you’re stuck with me.  Get in here.” Dorian ushered Tei through his door, glancing around to see who else had opened their doors and who would have rumors to share tomorrow.  Probably a ton of people listening through their doors too. No matter. 

Tei hurried inside and let Dorian close the door behind him.  

“Insomnia again?”  Dorian was searching his bookcase for something.

Dorian’s small room had a single bed, a desk, a chair, a bookcase, and a trunk.  Dorian had fancied it up by adding sumptuous blankets, rich curtains, and himself, but it had to have been a far cry from anything he’d been used to back home in Tevinter.  And although he mockingly complained about Skyhold he had never actually seriously complained about his appointments, instead living alongside any number of other Inquisition followers in an unremarkable room like any other volunteer.  

Tei appreciated that about him.  In truth, he was just a little bit jealous.  He would have been more comfortable in one of these tiny rooms instead of his expansive tower room.  He sat down at the foot of Dorian’s bed, nodding in response to Dorian’s question. He had dark circles under his eyes.  “It’s just, you said that sometimes you couldn’t sleep either and that I should drop by... I mean I didn’t know if you were just kidding or if you really meant it.  And I walked up and down the hall like four times before I knocked. I probably should have just gone for a walk on the battlements-”

“You’re babbling, Tei.”  Dorian found what he’d been looking for and then sat down next to Tei.  He poured a glass of brandy for Tei and passed him the glass.

Tei ducked his head.  “Sorry.” He accepted the drink.  He looked sideways at Dorian and then his mouth quirked into an amused smile.

Dorian raised an eyebrow.  “Something amusing?”

Tei looked back down at his hands.  “Um. Your hair... it’s-”

Dorian made a frustrated sound.  He scrubbed a hand back through his hair, trying to smooth it back into place.  “Don’t make me regret opening the door for you.”

Tei smiled.  “I like it.”

Dorian made a disapproving sound.  “And don’t push your luck.” He poured himself a glass and sat down next to Tei.  “Get comfortable.” Dorian moved back so he was leaning back against the wall.

Tei scooted back to sit beside him.  He sipped from the glass Dorian had given him and winced when it burned down his throat.  He shook his head and passed it back.

“One of these days I’m going to find something alcoholic that you like other than cider.”  Dorian tipped the contents from Tei’s glass into his own.

“It all just tastes like burning.”  Tei shrugged. 

“So, have I told you the story of the mis-delivered portrait?”

Tei settled in and got comfortable.  “Not yet.” he smiled. Dorian’s stories of Tevinter ribaldry never disappointed.  

“Well, this is a good one.”  Dorian smiled as he prepared to tell the story.

“Better than the flying cows?”  

Dorian nodded.  “Better than the flying cows.”  He took a sip from his glass. “The principle actor in this little drama is Silvius Axius, third son of Magister Titian Axius.  A dreadful little Altus with no fashion sense, terrible taste in books, and hair worse than yours.”

Tei gave Dorian a flat look.

Dorian nodded gravely.  “I know, hard to imagine, but it was truly horrendous.  Anyway. Silvius was trying to woo a very wealthy and young widow, Aquinea Viridius.  She was both rumored to be incredibly virtuous and to have killed her first two husbands.  Quite the scandal and the talk of gossip crowd. Despite her matricidal flair any number of Altus men were after her hand.”

Tei stared at Dorian.  “Wait, how could she be virtuous and a suspected murderer?  I mean, I know Tevinter, but that’s-”

“Insane?  I know. Anyway.  Silvius decided to have a portrait commissioned of her dressed saintly garb and taming some wild beast.  He intended to give it to her as a gift so she’d be impressed by his religious fervor. So he hired a hideously overpriced and under talented painter and had the painting done.  He had it delivered to her house, sight unseen.” Dorian chuckled as he continued recounting the tale. “It turns out the artist had rather a different vision for the painting than Silvius did.  The painting he delivered to her was a rather detailed and scandalous nude portrait of her being ‘serviced’ by a High Dragon while casting lightning bolts from her breasts.”

Tei’s head snapped around to look at Dorian.  “No! Are you serious?”

“As a templar at a harrowing.  She was so enraged that she had someone poison his breakfast.  Not enough to kill him, just enough to make him violently ill for nearly three weeks.  And then she hung the painting in her boudoir as inspiration for future lovers.” 

Tei started laughing and had to put a hand over his mouth so he didn’t get too loud and wake up the rest of the hall.  “That... is terrible and hilarious.”

“And you’ve just described Tevinter in a nutshell.”

“I can’t understand how such an awful place made someone so great as you.”  Tei smiled down at his hands. 

Dorian’s expression softened.  “You’re just saying that because I’m willing to talk your ear off when you can’t sleep.”

Tei leaned against him.  “Okay, there’s that too.”  He yawned. “Tell me another one, please.”

“Have I told you about the time Felix and I caused a lightning storm in the Minrathous Circle’s chantry?”

“What?  No. Tell me that one!”

Dorian put his arm around Tei.  “Well it all started with a stolen bottle of Antivan cinnamon whiskey and a three legged cat...”

 

\---

 

“So this Anchor thing, I take it from all the swearing and that odd ice blanket trick you use, it hurts when you close rifts?”  Dorian leaned on his staff as he watched Tei icing his arm.

Tei sighed.  “It’s kind of more like my entire arm is on fire, like I can feel  _ everything  _ on it.  My clothes, the air,  _ pollen _ , it’s kind of more like it’s hypersensitive.  Varric figured out the blanket thing. He made Solas cast ice into the blanket and it helps.”  Tei held the blanket around his arm. He knew an ice spell, perfected to work on the blanket so he didn’t need extra help these days.

“A bit cumbersome, isn’t it?  Dragging around a blanket.” Dorian asked.

Tei shrugged.  “A little, but I can’t always count on finding something laying around and this helps.”  He exhaled as the sensitivity started to fade back to normal. “And I can’t cast ice directly on my arm, I don’t want it to freeze all the way off.”  Tei paused. “Okay, most of the time I don’t want to freeze my arm entirely off.”

“Fair enough.”  Dorian nodded. He watched Tei flexing the fingers of his left hand and unwrapping his arm.  A sign that he was ready to move on. “Where to next?”

Tei angled his head towards the sand dunes.  “I think I spotted Venatori over those dunes.  I think we should take them out first.”

“Oh goodie.  Nothing like a spot of murder after a fade rift.”  Dorian chuckled. “Anytime you’re ready.”

Tei sighed.  “The fun never ends with me.”  He said sarcastically. He folded the blanket and tucked it away.  “Let’s go.”

 

Once they were back at Skyhold Dorian dug through the library.  He knew there was a book on runes and enchanting somewhere. After a few days of searching, this place really needed an actual librarian, he found it and took it down to Dagna.  He explained the idea and her eyes lit up with giddy delight. It took a week or two, but she proudly delivered the invention just in time for their next trip away from Skyhold.

 

It was a bit of a strange time for Dorian to be giving him a gift, seeing as they were a minute away from a battle to close a fade rift but Dorian had insisted.  “What is this thing?” Tei looked skeptically at the glowing tube Dorian had given him. It was a narrow black sleeve with faintly glowing blue stitching and several coin sized runes sewn into it.  He peered into it.

“It’s a sleeve for you to wear under your armor.”  Dorian took it from him and held it out so Tei could put his arm in.

Tei hesitated.  “You said you and Dagna made it.  Has it been tested?”

Dorian rolled his eyes.  “Of course it has. I wouldn’t give you something that would explode.  Have a little faith in me, Amatus.”

“Fine.”  Tei glanced back at the rift and quickly shrugged out of his coat so he could try the contraption on.  He gingerly slid his arm into it. It fit him perfectly, sliding up his arm and staying nicely in place.  It covered his arm from wrist to shoulder. Tei bent his arm to see how much it restricted his movement. It moved easily with him and felt surprisingly light.  “Okay, what is it for? Some kind of damage resistance?”

Dorian held out a glove.  “It accompanies this glove.”  He showed Tei the small rune stitched into the palm.  

Tei pulled on the glove which fit him like a second skin.  “Um, thank you. They’re lovely?”

Dorian smirked.  “Just wait and see.”  He helped Tei back into his armored coat.  “Let’s get that rift closed first.”

“You make no sense, Dorian.”  Tei gave him a confused look before turning back towards the rift.  He sighed and shook his head. “Okay, let’s get on with this.”

After the demons had been routed and Tei stood below the fade rift, wincing as he closed it with the mark and waiting for that horrible snap and the rush of painful sensation, he noticed Dorian standing right next to him.  Dorian took hold of Tei’s right hand, which was sweet, but a bit strange. Just as the overwhelming pain flooded into his arm Tei reached for the blanket to cast ice onto it.

Dorian brought Tei’s hand up to touch the sleeve and pressed the palm rune to Tei’s arm.

Tei gasped in shock as an icy cooling sensation flooded through the sleeve Dorian had given him.  It was so startling that Tei almost tried to pull the sleeve off. 

Dorian stopped him.  “Give it a second.”

Tei stared at the faint glowing he could see emanating from his arm, not the familiar glow of the anchor, but a new white-blue glowing.  Relief from the tingling burning of the mark was nearly instant. He stared at Dorian. “What is this?”

Dorian beamed proudly.  “Dagna did most of the work, I just tweaked the application of the theory.  It’s an instantly cooling sleeve. Frost runes, carefully tuned to your skin temperature, so they can’t burn you, but should relieve the rift closing pain.  Just touch the rune on the glove to your arm and it activates. All it takes is a simple focus spell to recharge and it should keep ready for weeks.”

Tei peeled back his coat so he could look at the glowing runes.  He shook his head. “This is amazing.” He smiled up at Dorian. “That’s why you were asking me so many questions about the ice blanket thing!  Thank you!”

Dorian looked incredibly pleased with himself.  “You are quite welcome. Always fun to have the chance to experiment a little with theory and application for such a beautiful and deserving recipient.”  Dorian wouldn’t have admitted it out loud, but in that moment, the look of relief, happiness, and delight on Tei’s face had been more than worth all the work.


End file.
